Undocumented Students Keep DREAM Act Hopes Alive

By JESSICA HOPPER The Tampa Tribune
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB58IBXI5F.html
Published: Aug 19, 2007

TAMPA - At 14, Dulce proudly told her parents she wanted to go to college.

Her parents' response shocked her. They said going to college would be difficult because she was an undocumented immigrant.

"I was broken completely in half. I refused to believe it," said Dulce, now 20.

Unlike many undocumented teenagers, Dulce's college story has a happy ending. She received her associate's degree in May from Hillsborough Community College. She recently received a $30,000 private scholarship that will cover tuition, books, and room and board at Florida Gulf Coast University this fall.

Undocumented students can attend public schools under a 1982 Supreme Court ruling. But undocumented college-age students are not eligible for federal aid and most forms of state aid. Forty states, including Florida, do not allow in-state tuition for undocumented students. Undocumented teens also cannot work legally to save money for college.

Dulce and other immigrant students hope proposed legislation, the DREAM Act, will make college more accessible to undocumented children.

Bill Has Not Passed Congress
The DREAM Act, which stands for Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors, would eliminate federal restrictions, allowing in-state tuition benefits for undocumented students. The legislation also would provide a path to legal residency for undocumented high school graduates. To receive their green cards, they would have to attend college or join the military for two years.

The bill has been introduced in Congress for six years but has not passed. It was part of the comprehensive immigration reform legislation that failed in the Senate in June. DREAM Act supporters are still pushing for passage.

To receive the benefits of the DREAM Act, an undocumented immigrant would have to meet qualifications. Aside from being a high school graduate or GED recipient, applicants have to have entered the United States before age 16 and have no criminal record.

Those who meet the qualifications would receive a six-year conditional status that would allow them to live here legally. After six years, they could apply for their green cards, which allow them to remain in the United States and get a job.

Dulce, who asked that her last name not be used because of her undocumented status, said the legislation would allow immigrant students to use their college degrees. Dulce's family came to the United States from Mexico when she was 11.

"Why bring people from other countries when we can do the job? This is our country. We might not be American by our birth certificate, but we're American by culture and by heart," Dulce said.

Act Sounds Like Nightmare To Some
But the DREAM Act has its critics.

John Keeley of the Center for Immigration Studies said opponents of the DREAM Act see it as a series of amnesties.

"It flaunts the status of illegality," he said.

Keeley said entrance to public universities is highly sought by legal residents. By allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, legal out-of-state residents would suffer, Keeley said.

"It treats those citizens like second-class citizens," he said.

Few foreign-born Hispanic students who graduate from U.S. high schools make it to college. Each year, about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools nationwide, according to the National Immigration Law Center. Only 13,000 of them currently attend college.

Brigita Gahr, of the Florida Migrant Interstate Program, said it takes persistence for undocumented students to gain entrance to college.

Gahr travels the state giving presentations to undocumented high school students about entering college.

"If they're told by guidance counselors that there's no way, it's kind of a self-fulfilling process even if it's done subconsciously," Gahr said.

Dulce said her school counselor wasn't helpful in her college search.

"It's easier to say no and next" than to help an undocumented student, Dulce said.

Gahr said many students haven't done the things Dulce did to prepare for college. They haven't taken the SAT or ACT or participated in extracurricular activities.

"Out-of-state tuition is what kills students even if they've been here since they were 2 months old," Gahr said.

When Dulce graduates from college, she plans to go to law school.

Unless the DREAM Act passes, she knows she will have to leave the country and re-enter legally to ever have a chance to use her degree.

If Dulce leaves, it could take years for her to return legally.

But she is content with that.

"I'll leave and come back the right way, because this time I have the option to do things the right way," Dulce said.